We just can't focus on Mahela or Sangakkara: Dhoni

Cardiff: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni rated Sri Lanka as "a dangerous team" ahead of their ICC Champions Trophy semifinal on Thursday, saying they were not just focussing on "a Mahela Jayawardene or a Kumar Sangakkara".

Thursday's semifinal will be the fifth meeting between India and Sri Lanka in the United Kingdom. Except for the shock defeat in the 1979 World Cup, India have easily won the remaining four. But Dhoni is taking nothing for granted.

"Sri Lanka are a dangerous squad. We just can't focus on a Mahela (Jayawardene) or a (Kumar) Sangakkara. We have to think of the entire team," Dhoni told reporters after a training session on Wednesday.

Dhoni said there was no pressure on the Indian team to win the championship.

"It's the Indian media that creates all this hype (after the recent BCCI controversies back home) and then asks me questions. As far as we are concerned, we have to play good cricket, we are working hard and just proving ourselves."

The Indian captain has been quite selective in dealing with the press during the Champions Trophy.

Rain could play spoilsport during the second semifinal at the Sophia Gardens here and if the match is washed out, India will go through to the final in Birmingham on June 23 for having topped their group.

Equal on points, but due to an inferior run-rate, the Lankans finished at the second spot behind England in group A.

Dhoni is not thinking about a washout and said the team was planning as it would normally do before every game.

"Of course, the teams know each other so well that we can save those extra 10-15 minutes strategising in team meetings," he said tongue-in-cheek.

The Indian captain said his boys were not too wary about the dangerous Lasith Malinga.

"We play each other a lot in the IPL and understand him better. He reverses the ball very well in the sub-continent but we are okay with him. He always remains a dangerous bowler," said Dhoni.

Dhoni said India's success so far in the Champions Trophy, where they are unbeaten in five games including two warm-up games, was also due to some excellent work by the back-up team.

The skipper said the presence of Duncan Fletcher (coach), Trevor Penney (fielding coach) and Joe Dawes (bowling coach) have helped him concentrate on other team details.